I report on the many facets of military health, including PTSD, suicide prevention, service dogs, medical retirement, and wounded warrior recovery. A former Forbes staff writer and alum of NBCNews.com.

Can Meditative Breathing Relieve PTSD Symptoms For Vets?

Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the signature wounds of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; according to one estimate, as many as 20 percent of the service members who were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan have the psychiatric condition.

These patients often experience disabling symptoms, including feeling jittery or on constant alert. They also may have difficulty sleeping, exaggerated startling to noises, trouble concentrating, and shortened breath. Some of these unnerving sensations are hallmarks of hyperarousal, a key symptom of PTSD, and one that makes it difficult for a patient to return to a calm and relaxed state.

PTSD is typically treated with anti-depressant medication, cognitive behavioral therapy or exposure therapy, all of which have demonstrated some benefit in studies. Treating veterans with PTSD is a unique challenge, however, as they can be reluctant to rely on a drug or dislike its side effects and may be skeptical of talk therapy.

Emma Seppala, associate director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, believes her research may offer an effective alternative treatment.

In a small study of 21 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Seppala found that PTSD patients who were taught meditative breathing techniques reported a significant decrease in their symptoms, particularly sleep quality. She also saw a decrease in hypervigilance that correlated with a decreased startle response.

Eleven of the veterans received a weeklong intervention while the remaining comprised a control group that received no treatment. The active subjects were instructed for three hours each day in techniques from the Sudarshan Kriya Yoga practice, which uses guided breathing to reach a state of relaxation. Unlike other meditative breathing methods, it did not include visualization.

A week later, veterans who received the lessons had markedly decreased symptoms. Seppala was surprised, however, to discover that veterans reported improvement a year later – even if they hadn’t continued using the techniques on a daily basis.

Seppala, who is preparing the research for publication, believes that the breathing techniques may help veterans “decouple” invasive, difficult wartime memories from an emotional response. The one-year results were reported by survey, and veterans were not asked if they had sought other treatments during that period.

There is currently limited evidence that so-called “mindfulness” treatments, including meditative breathing techniques, are effective for treating PTSD. Previous studies have been small and problematically designed, according to an evaluation by the National Center for PTSD. A recent report published by the Institute of Medicine also expressed concern that veterans are not consistently receiving evidence-based treatments for PTSD.

Seppala says the breathing techniques address the shortfalls veterans perceive with other treatments; they are not medication and don’t require regular visits to discuss traumatizing memories. A common refrain from participants, says Seppala, is “I remember everything that happened, but I feel like I can move on now.”

That’s exactly how Travis Leanna, 26, felt after participating in the study. The Marine Corps veteran served in Fallujah, Iraq, for a six-month deployment in 2008 and 2009. Though he was never diagnosed with PTSD before joining the study, Leanna was evaluated and admitted based on those results. The experience helped him identify emotional numbness and sleep problems that he felt were linked to his service.

In one frequent scenario, Leanna fell asleep at home and just before coming to full consciousness would be suddenly fearful that he’d dozed off while on watch in Iraq. “People I deployed with died doing that,” he says.

After the workshop, Leanna practiced the breathing in fits and starts. Each time he stopped for weeks or months, he noticed a difference in his attitude and energy level. The exercises made him less quick to anger while driving and left him feeling rested. “I had more of a clear sense of things,” he says.

It also desensitized him to wartime memories he’d never forget. “It’s like the emotional charge that’s normally attached to it isn’t there,” Leanna says. “You can have a thought without the mind and body getting into turmoil.”

Leanna has since trained in the techniques by taking courses with Project Welcome Home Troops, a Washington, D.C., based non-profit. Leanna, who is a full-time student in Madison, Wis., conducts workshops for local veterans in his free time. He believes that meditative breathing is not a cure-all for PTSD, but rather a powerful therapy and perhaps a “more pleasant alternative” to other treatments that are available.

“The only reason I’m teaching,” he says, “is because it works for me and I want it to work for you too.”

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